Chisana Kibou
by animecotes
Summary: A child left all alone. A dark Childhood. Circumstances lead to crossing of paths. This time Erina has a choice ,to not let it end the same way it had for her. This world is a cruel place ,she knows, but its also very beautiful, its not perfect but its out there trying its best. A loving redhead and true friends had saved and protected her. This time she will be the one to protect.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey Guys !**

**So i had an idea for Shokugeki no Soma fic ,we all know about Erina's drak childhood, so what would happen if she came across a child facing similar circumstances (or worse)? **

**The story is set in the same universe of my previous SomaxErina oneshot- HOME. (although this story is not in continuation, i'd be happy if you could give Home a read as well)**

**The Characters belong to their respected owners. Only this story belongs to me :p**

**Story Details:**

**Genre: Family, Hurt/comfort, slight romance, Theme of a dark past and overcoming it. **

**characters:Soma,Erina, Jouichiro ,OC's (other SnS characters may appear in the future)**

**Pairings: Soma x Erina (married)**

**Time line: Set in the distinct future (5-6 years after the events of the last chapter of SnS)**

**Original Characters Included.**

**Status: ongoing**

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**Chapter 1**

A loud knocking sound resonates through their flat. A minute of silence passes before the figure standing at the door knocks at it again with a little more force this time.

The sleeping figure of a woman groans, shifting in her bed, her green gown hugging the curves more tightly as a result of being pulled back by the body weight of the crimson haired man sleeping soundly besides her. Another knock reverberates through the room, stirring the woman up from her sleep. She groggily elbowed the man in slumber besides her awake, "Soma. Soma, wake up, come on …..Wake up .there's someone knocking on the door?"

"Hmmm, what is it Erina", he whispered, pulling the blonde into a hug and burying his face in the crook of her neck, dozing back to sleep.

"There is someone knocking on our front door, go and check who it is before I kick you out of the bed", replied the half-awake girl, pushing the figure of the red haired man away from her.

"As you say princess", Soma groggily made his way out of their bed towards the main entrance. 'Who the hell is it this time of the night, and to think I was having such a good sleep', he thought to himself while opening the door to check who it was that caused him to wake up from his beauty sleep.

"Yo, Soma. Took you pretty long to open the door. I've been standing here for 15 minutes now." Standing in front of Soma, was a man in a black overcoat and cowboy hat, his brown bangs done in a messy ponytail hanging from the sides of the hat, accompanying his facial hair.

"Dad! What are you doing here!?"

"Visiting my son. Now, would you mind letting this old man in? He's been standing here so long waiting for you to open the door"

"Oh? Is that so? Then why didn't he try ringing the bell, instead of knocking like a primate?" Soma smirked pointing towards the turtle shaped doorbell.

"Wait. This weird looking thing is a door bell?" he exclaimed looking towards the small switch just besides the nameplate.

"Yeah, see you have to press its shell to ring it"

"Oooh, that's neat. Let me guess it wasn't you who bought this huh?"

"Erina found it cute"

"Soma, who is it? Why did the bell ring? Didn't you see who it was? …..S-Sa-Saiba- sama!"

"yo! Erina. How you've been? You've grown so much more beautiful since the last time we met"

"Saiba-sama! I-i am fine. How are you? Oh, please forgive me for my rudeness, please come in. Soma, please get Siaiba-sama's luggage, won't you?". Erina guided Soma's dad towards the living room while Soma just complied with his wife's instruction.

Jouichiro followed his daughter in law to their living room and made himself comfortable on the couch and let out a moan of relief feeling his muscles relax after the long impromptu journey that he had just made.

"Would you like something to drink?" Erina inquired politely.

"Yes please. I would love to. Could I please get some tea? "

"Of course. Right away" Erina happily made her way to the kitchen, low-key excited to have the opportunity to serve her long since childhood idol now father in law.

She quickly made a cup of Assam tea leaves which she had received as a gift from Hisako and Akira when the said couple had gone on a tour to India. Hisako being the best medicinal cook there is and Akira hayama being the world renowned spice expert, Erina had little doubt regarding the quality of the leaves. But the utmost potential of an ingredient could only be bought out by a seasoned chef like herself or by a few others that she had come to respect greatly for their skills over the years.

Erina also made a cup for Soma and herself and made way to the living room with the cups where Soma and his father were sitting and catching up. Serving them the beverage she then took a seat next to soma on the couch opposite to the one on which Jouichiro sat sipping the high class tea savoring its deliciousness.

"This tea is heaven Erina! Thanks, it's just what I needed to relax. I see you look well, thanks for keeping this blockhead out of trouble" Jouichiro said taking another sip of the tea.

"I' m humbled by your words Saiba-sama. I try my best to keep him under check" giggled Erina looking at the betrayed face her husband was making besides her.

"Hey! I don't cause any trouble. It's unfair of you two to gang up on me!" Soma tried to say in a hurtful tone but the amused smile he had portrayed otherwise. The three had a good laugh and continued their light hearted conversation a bit more.

Soma finished his tea and put the cup down on the glass top table in front of the couch rather loudly. The sound of glass hitting glass shifted the attention of the other two occupants who were busy conversing about the flavors of various teas towards the red haired chef. Gaining the attention of the other two, Soma continued in a demure tone "So pops, are you gonna tell us or what?"

"Soma! What are you-"Erina stopped mid-sentence when she saw the intense look the father and son were sharing with each other.

"It's hard to believe that you'd suddenly come all the way to Italy to visit us that also in the middle of the night just because you missed us?" Soma continued with a small smile and the serious tone.

"You make it sound like I won't visit my daughter in law unless I have a reason. But I hate to admit that you are right on the mark this time. I had to make this trip rather hastily. It's just a coincidence that this happened at the same time you both are in Italy as part your world tour." Jouichiro replied earnestly and with a bit of sadness in his voice.

Soma nodded in understanding, "I see…so would you like to share it with us?"

"Yes I will, and actually I am really hoping that you guys would help me with this" Jouichiro replied in a heavy tone and with unfocused eyes, pondering about the things he was going to reveal, drinking the last sip of his tea he said "can I get another cup of tea?"

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**Hey guys! Hope you liked it. **

**Please Do leave me your reviews and let me know what you think about the story also i'd like to hear your ideas as well in moving forward with the story. (they mean a lot)**

Will Update new chapters soon.

**Thank you for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello peep! As i had said previously, Here's the new chapter. Hope you enjoy. **

**Also, although i had said that my previous fic- HOME, is not really related to this one, this story is still set in the same universe as HOME. So it would be great if you could read that as well, it will give a bit of clarity as to what Soma and Erina are upto in their careers as chefs and also the dynamics they share as a married couple.**

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**Chapter 2**

Erina stood alongside Jouichiro, both dressed in a semi-formal considering the venue and nature of the case they were present to address.

"Mr. Snape e-mailed me to meet him at his cabin in the public court at ten, seems we still got some time on us. Thanks to you tagging along and driving me here." Jouichiro said looking towards his daughter in law. Seeing her dressed up in formals, he noted that she indeed was a very attractive young woman. It remined him of soma's mother even though the two of them had quite differing personalities. He chuckled at the thought of what it would have been like had the two-woman met each other, together they might have made his sons life a second hell, he mused.

"No please, it is my duty to assist. And also, I can't let things be as they are after what you told us yesterday. Huh? Um? Why are you grinning? did I say something embarrassing?" the blond exclaimed flustered, still felling nervous alone around her childhood idol.

"nah I was just thinking that I am so lucky to have such an adorable daughter in law. You know me and Soma's mother wanted a cute girl just like you after we had Soma"

"I…..I am really grateful for the kind words but truly you are think too highly of me." A blush evident on her face as she replied to the praise of her idol. In an attempt to gain back her composure Erina tried to change the topic " I think we should proceed to the meeting venue, we still need to locate the office. "

"Yea…..we should. Sorry to drag you along, you even had to miss work on a weekday because of this"

"No please there is nothing to apologize for. I'm sure Soma can handle the work at the restaurant alone just , I think he might have been more help compared to me, but Soma insisted that I should be the one to accompany you"

"For once that son of mine knows what he was doing, believe me you are a hundred times more suited for this part than both us father son combined."

"I do hope I am able to prove worthy of such faith, more so that I am able to help that child"

"I am sure that you will be able to help that kid. You being present here today in itself might have altered the future of that child greatly"

Erina nodded at the wise words from the elderly father figure. As they both continued to walk steadily towards the office of the attorney, her mind recalled the conversation from last night.

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"Need our help? I hope this isn't going to end up in another apprentice or unclaimed children popping up scenario like last time" smirked Soma, content with having had a chance to have a dig at his old man.

"You just won't let that go will ya ? That happened years back, you guys were like what ? still just in like what ? your second year at Toutsuki." Jou replied with the same vigor also adding a bit of drama pretending that he felt offended. Erina could only marvel at the foolish antics of the father son duo.

Jouichiro continued, "well whatever, what's done is done, nothing can be changed about it. I assure you this is nothing like that incident" his tone shifted to that of absolute seriousness. The same could be observed by looking at Soma, his body language changing as well.

All Erina could do was sit back as an audience and admire the bond and understanding the two men shared. They were conversing not just with words it seemed but with something much more intimate in nature. If it would have been the Erina of the past, the Erina that had been a victim to a dark past, devoid of emotions, freedom and family. alien to sharing deep bonds with others, that Erina would have had no clue as to what was transpiring between the father and son.

But all that had changed due to the red head sitting beside her, as infuriating as he was, it was also a fact that Erina loved no person more. He was the reason she learnt what sharing a deep bond with someone felt like, to have a connection so deep that two people are able to understand each other completely without exchanging even a single word. It was all because she was able to cross paths with him.

Erina turned her undivided attention to Jouichiro for the explanation behind his sudden request.

"Soma do you remember Mr. Gilbert ? he visited our diner a couple of times when you were still little."

"Not really"

"He used to wear army uniform and cap, also had a few visible scars on his face"

"Oh ! Mr. scar hat . Yea now I remember. He had quite a mean looking face"

"Yes. He did. He used to be an admiral in navy back in the day. I met him back when he was still squandering as a lieutenant. He was one of the most earnest and somber person I have met in my life. He was a very dear friend of mine, even though we couldn't meet much. Given the nature of both our jobs and the fact that we used to live different countries."

"Was?" asked Erina.

"He passed away three months back due to some kind of pulmonary cancer"

"Oh, i'm Sorry. That's really tragic." Erina replied in an apologetic tone, felling guilty that she might have stepped on an open wound.

"yeah. It was news for me as well. The sour face never bothered to tell me about it. What's more he had the nerve to call me from his death bed and ask me a last favor"

"And that favor is what brings you here" Soma said to no one in particular.

"To put it very simply, he has a daughter. Seven-year-old. Mother passed away during child birth. No close relatives to take her in. Till now was living with a distinct uncle on the father's side."

"And the old man Gilbert wanted you to take her in and look after her huh ?"

"Yes. If only things were as simple as I just made them sound. I am not aware of the details but the girl was living with this uncle for the past few months following Gilbert's illness and him being admitted to the hospital. This guy that was supposed to be taking care of her disowned to do so any further when the news of Gilbert's short life span became apparent. What's more is that they had to move the girl immediately to a foster home when they discovered that he had started mistreating and abusing her"

"That's horrible. To do such a thing to a small girl. Its absolutely unforgivable. We must see to it that this terrible person is bought to justice for his crimes" ,Erina burst out with rage and disgust ,her fingers white due to the force with which they were clenched into fists. Soma had similar views but tried to calm down his wife, taking her clenched fists in his own and easing them into opening. This topic of discussion he understood was still very emotional and hard one for Erina to deal with. Her childhood trauma caused by her parents, especially her father being the ghost that still haunted her sometimes when such things were discussed.

"this just took a turn for the worse. Alright dad, I think I understand the situation now. As the circumstances stand right now, we can't just let things be the way they are. You have an appointment with the lawyer in the morning ?"

Jouichiro nodded in affirmation, downing the contents of his cup in a single go.

"Right. Then that's one thing sorted. I'll be more than enough to take care of the restaurant on my own tomorrow. So Erina, I think it will be a good idea for you to go along with pops tomorrow"

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**Hey Guys ! So here's the continuation, hope you liked it. **

**Please do leave me your comments and views about the story. Writing really consumes a lot of time so please let me know if the effort is worth it. **

**Will update the next chapter within a week. **

**Thanks for reading! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey Guys! Sorry for being late! I know i said i'd update within a week but things are just so hectic. My college entrances are coming up real soon and this might be my only chance to get a good college otherwise i fear i might end up living with my parents for the rest of my life. Hahaha. **

**So here's the new chapter. its a short one i know but i'll try to update the next one real soon. **

**Hope you enjoy reading. Please do leave a review.**

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Erina and Jou stood outside an old room, the old structure located in the far east wing of the City court. A number of identical rooms lined up besides each other, only the nameplates of their designated occupant attorneys differentiated them from each other. They both patiently waited for their turn to enter; a few minutes passed by in silence. Various people all dressed in formals and black walked by, minding their own business. None having the time to spare to even acknowledge their presence. A little while later, a young woman came out of the cabin in question and beckoned them to enter.

The room was aged ,probably constructed in the 1950's, the interiors had been redecorated to match the modern style. Erina noticed that the walls were occupied by hundreds of hefty books, mostly related to Law lined along the shelves in a very organised manner, the opposite side was decorated by a number of antique items, like an old radio, porcelain figures, pots etc. The furniture used was also made out of pure wood and had seen quite some time, yet it stood firm and unmoved by the trials of it.

At the further inside-end of the room ,a man, scribbling and going through some papers, sat at his desk. The desk was covered by a number of papers and files. He had slightly long black hair that were neatly combed to one side, a circular monocle rested on his face which had wrinkled with age. He wore a black lawyer coat over his formal suit. His body eluded confidence and authority. The sharp eyes lifted to looked up towards the people that had entered the premises , scanning them through the years of built up experience. The elder man gently stood up from his chair and greeted Erina and Jouichiro with a slight nod of the head. They returned the gesture by bowing slightly, he then motioned to shake hands with Jouichiro and spoke in a firm tone, "Mr. Jouichiro. My sincere gratitude for coming to meet me. Please have a seat and make yourselves comfortable."

"Thank you. No please ,this is just me carrying out the responsibility entrusted to me." Jou replied, seating himself on the chairs in front to the desk. He continued, "I believe we have met before as well?"

"Perhaps. We met a few years back at a military award ceremony, I think. It was Gilbert that had introduced us to each other wasn't it?"

"Haha. Yeah I remember now. Good memories, aren't they? But, to think we would have to meet again under such circumstances."

"Its truly unfortunate indeed. May I ask who is the young lady accompanying you."

"My daughter in law. Nakiri Yukihira Erina."

"Hello sir. Pleased to meet you" Erina bowed slightly from her seat besides the older Yukihira.

"Snape Peterson. The pleasure is mine. I am an intellectual property lawyer, have been in the profession for the past 40 odd years. But due to my personal connection to , I am handling this case. Mr. Jouichiro I didn't realize your son would have been this old."

"hahaha. Yeah. kids. They grow up way to fast. Makes me realize my growing age. Speaking of kids…."

"Yes, without any further delay lets get to the matter at hand. Gilbert before he passed away contacted you to take in his daughter. I was present when he called you." Erina and Jou looked puzzled at the older man. "I'm sorry. Please let me explain the details from the beginning."


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! Sorry for the wait. **

**This chapter is basically the background of the character i plan on introducing.**

**Let me know your thoughts. Please leave a review. **

**Thanks again for reading. **

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"Rixton was a very honorable man. He served in the naval armed forces for well over 20 years. He was highly revered by his subordinates and higher brass. During his tenure he eared many distinguished honors and medals for his service, truly an exceptional track record.

Unfortunately, hardly could be said the same about his personal life. He was a state orphan, had no known relatives. Spent all his life fighting in battle grounds, started a family late in life. However, he found a good and loving wife, she was also from the orphanage he grew up in. Sadly, they didn't get much time together. She passed away during childbirth.

Gilbert never told anyone, but he had been a chronic cancer patient for many years and his health was deteriorating. Things got really bad during his last few months, he had to be permanently shifted to the hospital. It was during this, that he sent his daughter to stay with one of his acquaintances. This guy at first was very welcoming to the proposal but when he got the wind of Gilbert's soon possible demise, he started demanding monetary compensation. Gilbert wanted to live for his daughter, he spent everything he had to prolong his life. This did not sit well with this guy; he began venting his dissatisfaction on the daughter. Regrettably, it took us time to find out about this, but by then the damage had already been done. We removed the girl from him as soon as we came to know about this. This all happened just a week prior Gilbert died; it was after this incident that he contacted you Mr. Jouichiro." Mr. Peterson paused from his long expletive monologue to see if his two audience had anything to ask. He gauged their reactions through his lens and waited for one of them to break the silence. Erina, at first, hesitated but asked him anyway, "Sir, it sounds that you were close to Mr. Gilbert"

Old man Snape cracked a reminiscent smile, "We were good friends you could say, but we differed in age quite a bit. I met him back when he was still a misfit in the orphanage and I had just started my career. He was aware of his medical condition and had requested my assistance to draw a will." He continued, face turning dark with remorse "But, as a friend, more so as a lawyer, its utterly shameful that I didn't realize the mistreatment of that innocent child sooner. I'll never be able to forgive myself for the ignorance on my part".

"It's not your fault, these were just screwed up circumstances, nobody would have been able to do anything more. Anyway, what is going to happen to that scumbag? Its not going to change anything but we must make sure he gets what he deserves", Jouichiro broke his silence, speaking in a menacing tone.

"Absolutely, that trash of a man is already under police custody for child abuse, mental harm, attempted robbery and inhuman treatment and other charges. Gilbert's acquaintances in the army are now aware of what has transpired and are waiting to settle the dues with this guy. Besides that, I will do anything and everything under my jurisdiction to see to it that this guy gets every inch of what he deserves."

"That so, In that case, I will trust and leave this up to you"

A silent chill ran through Erina's spine, it was the first time she had witnessed such chilling aura from Soma's father. The old lawyer also dripped the same cold hatred from his words when he was explaining of what would happen to that guy. She started feeling nauseated and downright disgusted imaging the whole scenario, she felt genuine hate for this guy but more than that she was worried for the well-being of the girl. Remembering this she quickly asked the old lawyer, "Where is Mr. Gilbert's daughter now? What is her condition?"

Mr. Peterson nodded understandingly and called for his attendant, the young woman who had ushered Erina and Jou into the room earlier. He gave her some instructions and she promptly left the room. She came back after a few minutes with a little, orange-blonde haired girl following behind. The girl had a small frame; one would think that she was six years old but actually she was over eight. Her arms and legs also looked thin, maybe that was also due to the fact that she was wearing a plain dull frock that was at least two size bigger. Her shoulder length hair was unmade and had a wildness to them, the bangs covering the forehead as well as hiding her eyes a little. Her overall appearance could be said to be shabby, and the clothes that she wore could use some cleaning, Erina suspected that the little girl had to dress herself having no elderly figure to turn to for help.

The girl had been intently staring down towards the floor, like afraid to look up. Erina got up from her chair and crouched in front of the little figure. Gently caressing her head Erina tenderly asked the little girl, "Hey sweetie. What's your name?"

The girl lifted her head, light Prussian blue eyes examining the face of the new stranger. Then the eyes turned to the old lawyer as if asking for some form of permission or assurance that she could speak. Probably because he was the only one in the room that she recognized. It pained Mr. Snape when looked upon those innocent eyes, but putting a fake smile he gave his nod of ascent. The girl peered back towards the honey blonde haired lady, nervous and almost inaudible she replied, "Vi- -Violet .."

"Hey Violet. That's such a beautiful name. My name is Erina."

"Ai-na?"

"No dear. Its Er-i-na."

"Ei-na?"

"Well that's fine, maybe its hard to pronounce for kids." Erina said to no one in particular, she gently patted Violet's head, removing a few bangs of hair from her eyes and face.

Old man Snape interrupted the pair, "Please meet Violet Rixton, daughter of late Mr. Gilbert Rixton. She is a very good and sweet young girl." Turning his face towards the little girl he continued, "Violet dear. This is Mr. Jouichiro and they are your dad's friends. They are here to take you with them. Do you have your bag?" The small child only nodded her head. "Good girl. Listen dear, from today you will be living with these good people. Your father loved you very much and this is what he decided, okay dear?" Once more, he only received a meek nod in response. Heaving a sigh, he turned to the two adults, "Please take good care of her. She's but an innocent little child. You will have to come for further legal proceedings next week. The city magistrate will give the final verdict. All these legal verification and proceedings take time, I hope you understand."

"Yeah sure. Its not an issue at all. I promise that we'll do everything possible to take good care for her. Well then, Mr. Snape we will be taking our leave now." Joichiro said in his usual jolly tone as he shook hands with the older man. Erina bowed her head to the older man, saying a quick thank you and took her leave from his office as well, along with the little member following behind.

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**Thanks for reading! Please leave a review. **

**Next chapter will be updated next week.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello Guys! Here's the new chapter as promised within the next week since the previous chapter. I will be trying to update the story on a weekly basis, so lets see where it goes. **

**Also initially i had a lot of things thought out for this story (would have made the story about 20 chapters long), but now i'm thinking of cutting it quite short (around to 8 chapters). So please let me know what you guys think about it. Depending on that i might think of making it longer. So please let me know in the reviews.**

**Hope you enjoy reading !**

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Erina pulled her car behind their restaurant and parked in the service lane at the back. It had only been a few months since Soma and she had opened this new outlet. Well, it was officially a chain that was owned by Soma but after their wedding he made her an equal owner of the company without even seeking her permission. When Erina questioned him why he had done so on his own, he just shrugged and said that "Might as well, it's only natural. You already have me under your spell." She had just blushed and haughtily replied something along the lines of "humph, of course why don't you just say that you want my help, after all without me you'll go out of business in two days."

Now they had already opened at a third location within the last two years. The chain of restaurants was not a chain of high class exquisite fine dining, much to Erina's dismay, but rather a chain of high quality, cheap food diners, much to Soma's character. "I don't just want to serve some rich people who don't even realize the joy of food and only go to expensive restaurants to maintain their status. I want to serve the people who work tirelessly everyday and understand the importance of a meal. I want to make a place where everyone can eat food that brings them together, a place will make them happy irrespective of their social status or what's going on in their lives." Erina had been unable to find a reason to protest against something that Soma so strongly desired, not like he would have listened to her anyway, but she had wholeheartedly supported his idea, knowing better than anyone the passion he had for it.

Erina and Jouichiro, being meekly followed by the little girl, entered the diner from the back entrance, that was meant only to be used by the staff, workers and delivery staff. They were greeted with the figure of the redhead in his trademark white bandanna engaged fervently in tossing the rice and vegetables, cooking on a wood fueled stove instead of the gas stoves. The little girl watched the back of the redhead cook, awestruck by the astonishing unknown scenery that unfolded in front of her, she was entranced by the flames that illuminated the figure of the man that moved inside the flames with robust movements as if he was the one that controlled the domain itself.

She was so entranced by what she witnessed that she did not notice the very redneck approach her until he crouched down to meet her eye level. Startled by the sudden break in her trance, she instinctively took a couple of steps back before realizing that she had become stuck between Erina and the man with crimson color hair.

Sensing her discomfort, Erina patted her head attempting to assure and calm her, which seemed to somewhat work since she looked back at Soma, this time without taking any steps back. Soma extended his hand towards her for a handshake, smiling brightly, to which she timidly grabbed one of his fingers. Soma lightly moved their hands in up and down motion and asked "Hey kiddo! I'm Soma. What's your name little miss ?"

"Violet" came a soft timid reply.

"Wow. That's such a cool name. So, I'll call you Violet. Is that fine?"

"Hmm", she moved her head up and down to nod.

"Alright so it's decided then. We're both friends from now on. You can also call me Soma."

"So-ma?"

"Yep. That's right.", Soma lightly patted her shoulder to cheer her up. "Hey, what happened Erina, why the cute pout."

"Humfm. I'm not pouting. She spoke your name so easily and correctly in just the first time", murmured Erina, crossing her arms.

"Well…I guess my name's just shorter and easier to say in comparison to yours. Right Violet ?"

"Um…I…I…like Eina's name too." She spoke almost inaudibly, clutching the skirt of the older woman, hiding a little of her small body partially behind Erina's leg.

Erina felt her heart skip a beat looking at the cute response from the younger girl. Hearing it filled her chest with a strange satisfaction and warmth. She picked up the younger girl in her arms and motioned towards the sitting area. "Awww, you're such a good girl, Violet dear. Come, we'll get us something to eat." Erina flashed a smug grin to Soma, as if she had won a battle of shokugeki against a strong opponent, while moving past him.

Erina took Violet with her to the sitting area and left the two men alone in the kitchen. "So, dad, how do things look." Soma asked his father while getting back to the dish he was working on before.

"Well, I pretty much told you everything that happened at the court this morning over the phone. After that we directly came here." Jouichiro replied, while taking off his dress coat. Rolling up the sleeves of his shirt, he put on the apron before joining his son at the stove.

"Hmmmm, I see. What about the state of the laddie?" Soma said, handing Jouichiro the roasted beef and chicken pieces.

Jouichiro took the plate from Soma's hand and began working on the gravy and fillings of the dish. "Can't say for sure, but from what I can make out, it might end up not being that simple to be honest. "

"Think we can handle it. Or do we need to think about some professional aid?"

"It would be a much better scenario if we don't have to if necessary. Right, almost forgot to tell you, some legal matters are still left to be taken care of, so they'll call us sometime next week again"

"I guess then there's no point in overthinking about it. For now, I'll do what I can do best. Time to serve our new guest." Soma wiped the sweat on his fore head, re-tied the white cloth around his temple, and made his way to the counter nearest to the kitchen where Erina was sitting along with Violet on the stools. Soma wearing his signature grin asked in his usual messianic style.

"What can I get the two beautiful ladies today?"

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**Thanks for reading !**

**Also i'll be including more sorina in the future chapters. **

**Please share and review. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey Guys! Sorry for the long over due update, its been really busy with the college entrances coming up. I will try my best to update more frequently, things should get less hectic after mid December. **

**Anyways, hope you enjoy reading. **

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"What can I get the two beautiful ladies today?"

Erina did her signature hair flip, lips growing into smirk, "Oh! Should I consider this another of your challenges. Seriously, you never learn do you."

Soma loved it when she did the whole taunting act on him, he just adored how cute she looked when she tried to act smug with him. He knew for a fact that Erina enjoyed eating his cooking, even though she had never verbally acknowledged it to him directly. It was a long running gag between them at this point, him challenging her to try new dishes that he came up with, her tsundere reactions and compliments to him, their subtle-but not so subtle fake flirty jibes at each other which many times led to a shokugekies, , stealing each other's catch phrases and signature moves , their usual banter and arguments about the most stupid of things. All these silly antics bought them both closer to each other and kept things fresh and lively between them.

Soma looked at the blonde with an amused expression and said, "As much as I'd love to do that, but today I'll be but a humble waiter and chef. Princess."

"It's Queen to someone of your standing." Erina playfully retorted, pretending to put on a haughty front. She expected the remark to throw the redhead off, but it just amused him even more. He was very much used to her attempts to rile him up, honestly, he found it quite endearing when she tried her haughty God-tongue routine on him. Most of the times he would just go along with it and let her have the satisfaction of having her way with him up, but that was not to say he could not turn the tables the other way if he wanted to.

Soma returned the smug smile that Erina had on her face and replied in a nonchalant manner, "My standing huh? Oh, you mean because I'm your King huh. Man, Erina you're such a flirt."

" A-A-As if. I didn't mean it like that, you dummy." It really fascinated him to no end, just how quickly she could turn from the proud and confident connoisseur to an embarrassed blushing schoolgirl and the way she would try to act calm and composed, to cover up her bashfulness just seconds right after, " Very well then, let the chef know that I'll be having a 'chef's special'."

"Coming right up!" He replied in his usual up-beat manner, turning his attention to the little girl sitting besides his wife, he asked "What about you Violet? What should I get you?"

The said girl had been intently looking at the two adults as they conversed with each other. She glanced at their faces, both of them had been smiling the whole time, it seemed that they were having a lot of fun. Erina looked really happy, she noted, she was making such a different expression compared to the serious one she had when she met her. She did not understand adults well, they were too complicated, they said something but meant something else, she never knew what might end up making them angry. The uncle she had been living with was also like that, she never understood why he would yell at her or why he would make a disgusted face looking at her. Her father too always looked as if he was in pain to her. She did not meet much of other adults, so she assumed that all adults were like that, but Erina had felt different. Erina had a different expression when she met her, and even now she made a face that looked happy.

The girl was pulled out of her trance when she heard the adult cook asking her a question. She didn't really understand what he meant; she had no clue what he was referring to get her. Having no idea what to reply, she could just stare blankly back at the man. Then she glanced towards Erina, hoping that she would receive some help.

Perceiving the dilemma of the little girl, Erina spoke instead, "Soma you're such an airhead. She won't know what to answer when you ask her out of the blue like that."

"Ah. Haha. Yea,I guess you're right. My bad. My bad. So, Violet, actually I was asking what would you like to eat?" Soma chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.

Violet blinked blankly a couple of times, trying to process an answer to something she had never been asked before. She didn't want to end up saying something unnecessary, after a couple of seconds, she came up with an answer that seemed appropriate in her own mind. She replied, "Um. An—Anything."

Erina thought that Violet was feeling shy and unsure of what to answer and how to interact with Soma, she did meet him just a few minutes back after all, Erina reasoned. Wanting to put the girl at ease, Erina reassuringly put one hand on Violet's shoulder and said, "It's fine sweetie, no need to be shy."

"N….No.I will not be a problem so I will eat anything. I won't complain." Violet replied hurriedly, looking at the faces of the two adults trying to figure out if she had said something that she shouldn't have. Erina fell silent, not knowing what to say or do. Her silence made Violet more uncomfortable, in her mind she started blaming herself for saying something wrong and making Erina angry.

Observing Erina's sudden drop in demeanor and the growing anxiousness on Violets face, Soma tried to stir the conversation windward. "….I see… you're such a good girl, aren't ya Violet ? Tell me, what have you been eating usually?"

She stared wide eyed at Soma and after a short unsure pause, replied, "…Bread…".

"Ah. Like…Sandwiches? …or like with jam? or eggs?".

"…..Just bread…" ,feeling that she had not answered the question asked properly she hastily added, "but…but… sometimes uncle let me eat if any food was left or if food was extra."

Silent and speechless till now, Erina spoke up spontaneously, "what!?…didn't…did you ever tell him that you wanted to eat something yourself ?"

Startled by Erina's sudden effusion, in a low voice Violet tried to answer, not wanting to cause any more upset to the older woman. "Uncle said that good kids should only eat what grown-ups give them. Only bad kids ask for stuff and become problem. And bad kids get punished"

Is that why she looked so confused when I asked her what she wanted?, Soma thought to himself.

Overwhelmed by what she was hearing, Erina gently pulled Violet to her bosom, lightly embracing her small frame within her arms, lightly she spoke to the little girl she was hugging, "It's okay now. You can tell us what you want. You won't become a problem for us if you ask for stuff."

Soma moved closer to Erina, letting her lean a little on him while she embraced the orange head girl. He lightly put his hands on the blonde's shoulders, softly massaging them, caressing reassuringly to calm her into opening her arms from around the child. "Yep. That's right kiddo. It's exactly as Erina says. Say, do you have like a favorite food or something you feel you want to eat?"

Stunned with new unknown emotions and overloaded by the confusion caused by being allowed to do what she had for so long learned not to do, all Violet could muster to say was, "I..I don't know."

Soma put his hand and stroked the top of the little girl's head. She raised her head after the head pat from the older man, her eyes were greeted with the faces of the couple adorning warm smiles and kind eyes. Heading back towards the kitchen Soma pulled his white cloth and securely tying it around his forehead he called back out loudly, "It's fine. No worries, kiddo. I'll cook something really special food just for ya."

* * *

**Please let me know your thoughts about the new chapter.**

** Also it will be really great if you could suggest ideas as to what Soma should cook for Violet and Erina?**

**Also what kind of moments would you like to see between Soma and Erina as a married couple? **

**Suggestions and prompts for interaction between other characters would also be appreciated. **

**Thanks for reading ! **


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